The bill to alter the process of appointing the Judicial Review Commissioner is expected to be submitted on Monday for its second and third readings in the Knesset. The bill, introduced by Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rotman (Religious Zionism), suggests that members of the committee to appoint a new Judicial Review Commissioner would be appointed by the coalition and control the selection of the commissioner.
Under the current law, the Justice Minister and the President of the Supreme Court propose an agreed-upon candidate to the committee to appoint judges. However, since the last judicial review commissioner, retired judge Uri Shoam, left his post last May, no new commissioner has been appointed, which created difficulties for the system in reviewing judges who face public complaints.
The chairman of the Constitution Committee, MK Simcha Rotman, emphasized the need to amend the law, stating that the bill addresses a “big hole” in the statute book, where Supreme Court justices select the bodies responsible for reviewing complaints against them. “This reality is unacceptable and must not be tolerated,” said Rotman. “An ugly patch is better than a beautiful hole, and this law addresses a serious issue.”
The bill specifies that the committee responsible for appointing the Commissioner will be led by the Justice Minister and consist of six additional members: the Labor Minister; a retired judge selected by the Supreme Court justices; a retired judge chosen by the presidents of the District Courts; a retired rabbinical Dayan appointed by the Chief Rabbis; the national public defender; and a member of the Knesset selected in a manner determined by the Speaker of the Knesset.
Each committee member will be allowed to propose two candidates for the Commissioner’s position, and the appointment will be decided by a simple majority, requiring four out of seven committee members to vote in favor.
On Sunday, Attorney General Gali Baharav Meara communicated her objections to Justice Minister Yariv Levin regarding the proposal to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee. According to Baharav Meara, the proposal casts a significant political influence on the judicial system, undermining its professionalism, independence, and capacity to critique the government.
“The proposed outline transforms political agreements into the primary basis for decision-making in the judicial selection process, sidelining professional considerations,” wrote the AG. “It does not provide alternative guarantees to ensure the professionalism of judges and the independence of the judiciary, which are crucial for the functioning of the judicial authority in a democratic system.”
Naturally, she did not mention the fact that nearly the entire lineup of Supreme Court Justice are Meretz voters.
Rothman’s original bill proposed that the Commissioner be appointed through a secret ballot in the Knesset plenum, with the appointment requiring a majority of 70 MKs. Candidates for the position could be nominated either by the Justice Minister or by a group of ten MKs.
